Congressman Barton, BP, Obama, and the Oil Spill

I was interviewed by CNN about the issues relating to Congressman Barton's apology to BP. The network only used one of my quotes from the interview, and I was happy to see that I was not taken out of context (always a danger when you are taped in advance).



To augment my limited quote from the story, my main gripe with the $20 billion fund is that compensation claims should be part of the regular legal process and not the result of pressure from the White House. That being said, I won't be too agitated about the fund - assuming that the money does not become a piggy bank for White House vote buying. On the broader issue of BP and the spill, protecting people from harm (either intentional harm, which is addressed by the criminal justice system, or unintentional harm, which should be addressed through the tort system) is one of the few legitimate functions of government.

One final comment. The CNN story, shortly after the 2:00 mark, makes it appear as if polling data shows the American people favor Obama's approach. That is not the case. The polling data simply shows that people don't think the spill is under control and that they think BP should pay all damages. That's not contrary to Obama's position, but neither is it contrary to the libertarian position.